


Puzzle Pieces

by CapnStarkBucks



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Circus, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentioned Abuse, My Poor Boys, Omegaverse, Poor Clint, Poor Tony, Potentially triggering mentions, Running Away, carson's carnival of travelling wonders, friendship before relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 19:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11364546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnStarkBucks/pseuds/CapnStarkBucks
Summary: An IronHawk fanfiction based in the Omegaverse.When Howard brings his son to Carson's Carnival of Traveling Wonders in order to not seem like a neglective father, young Tony Stark crosses paths with a shy, orphaned acrobat. Little do they know how much their lives would change as their lives quickly become intertwined.





	Puzzle Pieces

The number of times his father had taken him on a trip to do something for fun with just him could be counted on only one of his hands. He used to love spending time with his dad but in recent years, their relationship had gone downhill. Tony tried to strike up a conversation with his father while they drove but the man didn't really reply so it left the young teenager dejectedly resting his chin on his arms as he gazed out the window. 

The urban surroundings slowly turned suburban and then Tony's brows slowly furrowed as it morphed into rural landscape after a while.

"Oh my god. Cornfields. How /fun/." Tony spoke up sarcastically, bitter about his father not replying to his chatter. It wasn't like Tony wasn't used to the silence but today he'd gotten his hopes up since Howard offered to take him out somewhere. He'd been thrilled-- ecstatic really. But no, he was met with judgemental and disappointed silence as always. Until that sassy comment.

"If you like them so much, I can dump your ass off here." Howard snorted, not sounding impressed and then Tony rolled his eyes, leaning back against his seat to glare at the man. He kicked his feet up onto the dash of the Corvette. "Get your feet off the dashboard, Anthony. I didn't raise a brat." He grumbled, glancing at his son.

"You didn't raise anyone, moron." He snapped back in a quiet voice, taking his feet down and looking back out the window, missing the guilt that flooded Howard's face. Cornfields and more cornfields with a few houses and silos here and there. Picturesque. Superb. Bull/shit/. This was boring.

"Watch your mouth, son." His father replied after a while, earning another eye roll from the boy but Tony opted to stay quiet so that they wouldn't go at each other's throats. A civil car ride and then they'd get out at wherever the hell they were going.

Tony was beginning to doze off a bit because of the quiet and the seemingly sameness of the landscape. His arms rested on the door with the open window and his head was laid on top of it so that the wind rustled his messy brown hair. His eyes slipped closed, leaving his father as the only alert one in the car.

Tony later awoke when they ride was no longer smooth and the tires crunched as they rolled over loose gravel. He rubbed his eyes and scrunched up his nose as his father slowly pulled into the grassy lot and parked. The grassy lot behind them was filled with trailers, animal cages, food vendors and sketchy carnival rides with a large big top tent looming in the background. 

Tony's eyes brightened up some as his father turned off the car and he opened his door quickly, climbing out as he looked around. A circus? Awesome. Tony didn't wait for Howard as he grabbed his jean jacket from the car, shrugging it on as he made his way to the ticket booth. Finally something exciting. Also an opportunity to ditch his father in the crowd and live a little. 

Howard caught up with him, buying Tony a wristband that gave him access to the shows and all the rides. Tony waited for the lady running the booth to put his wristband on before slipping onto the fairgrounds without thanking his father. Howard sighed and got his own wristband before finding Tony again.

"Tony. /Tony/." He waited for the boy to turn towards him before handing him thirty dollars. "Don't be stupid."

Tony hummed and pocketed the money without another word, disappearing into the growing crowd.

The young teenager was an alpha and his father had shown pride in that, even if it ended up being short lived. This trip was to celebrate him discovering his nature and he looked around at the world in a very different way than he used to. He could tell the difference between alphas, omegas, and betas when he wasn't so sure before. It made him feel empowered as he tramped through the fairgrounds. 

'Don't do anything stupid,' His father's words rang in his head and he snorted out loud, shoving his hands into his pockets while shaking his head. 

"Yeah well, stupid is my middle name." He muttered, his eyes scanning over the different rides and games. He shook his head once again after pausing; he'd save those for later.

Tony made a beeline straight towards the big top, trying not to seem too interested but he couldn't help it. He slipped inside the large striped tent and looked around in awe, his brown eyes large. His sneakers dragged in the dirt some as he made his way to the wooden stands for the audience. He squeezed into the front row as two lions were being led back to their cages. Lions. Real actual lions that weren't in a zoo. 

This was going to be awesome.

Meanwhile, Howard had to take a call while he wandered about the circus. He stood off to the side, looking out of place in his nicely tailored clothing. He got a message on his pager so he ventured back out the car so that he could use the phone to call back. 

It was secret business and he was told that he needed to make a trip to the Pentagon as soon as possible. He agreed and hung up, rubbing his face as he ran through his options. His job was more important. "Tony will be fine." He muttered and then walked to the ticket booth. "Ma'am?"

The older woman looked up and leaned forward. "Yes, sir? How can I help you?" She questioned. 

"My son, if he comes by later. His name's Tony. Teen, brown hair, jean jacket. Tell him to get a bus home, it was an emergency." The woman wrote down what he said, nodding as if it happened all the time and she wasn't too concerned.

"Will do, sir." She responded and looked up just to see Howard dialing his phone and putting it up to his ear as he got into the car.

Tony didn't know that his father was abandoning him at the circus. Howard knew Tony wouldn't tell Maria the whole story so there was no worry there. 

Tony sat in the stands for hours, watching countless death defying acts. He was on the edge of his seat as he watched a kid his age doing flips and amazing trick shots with a bow... From a hundred so feet off the ground. There was no net or anything so he leaned forward, partially terrified he'd watch the boy plummet to his death but nothing of that nature happened.

When the acrobatics were over, Tony wandered outside, noticing how the sun had set. The rides were lit up with multi colored lights, the ferris wheel being the gem silhouetted by chasing lights, and there were stilt walkers amongst the crowd that were breathing fire or juggling flashing pins. Baton twirlers walked about with rods either lit up in the colorful lights or flaming on either end, their faces comically painted. Contortionists stalked the crowds, gaining shrieks from surprised children at grotesque masks and weird body movements or drew small groups to watch what they were doing. 

It felt like a totally different world to the young alpha as he spun around, dazzled by all the moving lights and smells of carnival food. He absolutely loved it, an adventurous and toothy grin smeared across his face. 

As Tony stood in line for cotton candy, rocking back and forth on his heels, he distinctly picked up on protesting shrieks. No one else seemed to notice since it drowned in and out of the loud crowd noises. He abandoned his spot in line and made his way past the dividing ropes that marked the trailer yard for circus performers. He saw a glimpse of purple sequins reflecting the carnival lights as he heard someone dragging another.

No one words came out from the person being dragged along, only whimpers. It didn't sit well with Tony at all. He stalked along the rows of trailers and soon made it to a decked out, shabby looking trailer as what looked like the Ringmaster dragged a kid into the trailer with him.

Tony's nose wrinkled and he crept closer, trying to plan out a way to help the kid. The small boy stumbled out of the trailer after a few minutes, hugging himself and crying. 

Omega. 

Part of him hated it that that is what he picked up on first but he instinctively threw himself into action. Alphas were to comfort and protect omegas, right? He walked into the light and waved, gazing at the smaller boy. He immediately recognized him as the young acrobat he'd been mesmerized by. 

The blonde boy looked up in shock and quickly wiped at his eyes. "Y-You shouldn't be here." He mumbled. Tony shook his head and took the boy's hand.

"What was that man doing to you?" He asked quietly and the acrobat scrubbed at his eyes a bit more. The boy seemed reluctant to reply but when Tony wouldn't walk away, he replied.

"Trying to kiss me.." He mumbled and Tony frowned as his suspicions had been confirmed. That was disgusting. That boy didn't deserve something like that. Absolutely not. He had to help him.

"Want a corndog?" He abruptly changed the subject but tightened his hand on the younger's, giving him reassurance. The acrobat nodded and slowly began following him as Tony led him out into the crowds. He made sure to keep a firm hold on his hand, wanting to make him feel better.

"Why're you doing this?" He spoke up after a while, causing Tony to look at him. Tony sighed and swung their hands as he led him to a food vendor that was selling corndogs. 

"Because you don't deserve that." He replied, his brows furrowing together. He read the sign above the food cart, scanning over the list of food choices. "Anyways, bud. What's your name?"

"Clint." Tony turned to him with a smile and gave a nod.

"Nice to meet you, Clint. I'm Tony." He replied kindly and then stepped up to the window. "Two corndogs please. And a large blue slurpee." He felt Clint tighten his grip on his hand, stepping closer in proximity to him. He paid the lady and then handed Clint one corndog, tucking the slurpee drink into his elbow as he held the other corndog.

He heard a small, "thank you" come from Clint as he led him to a bench, causing him to happily as he sat down. He set his drink down and munched on his food, unfazed by the fact that Clint had a deathgrip on his hand. If it comforted the boy, why not?

He sat in silence, finishing the corndog quickly before turning his attention to Clint who was gazing up at stars as he finished his own food. "Hey, buddy. Want to go on the ferris wheel?" He asked gently, enjoying the opportunity to help someone out.

Clint threw his stick into the garbage before looking at Tony with wide blue grey eyes. The lights of the rides danced in them and Tony got lost in them for a few seconds. "Really?" Clint blurted out, surprised. 

Tony nodded and stood up, taking a drink from his slurpee. "Yeah, come on. We'll have fun tonight." He promised, offering Clint a sip from his drink. Clint happily complied, taking a sip and following him along, a skip to his step.

The ferris wheel wasn't their only stop of the night. Tony dragged Clint around to all the rides, their night being filled with laughs and bonding between the two new friends. They faced fears together, daring each other to go on the scariest rides.

The crowd began to thin out and Tony decided it was about time to go look for his dad after having his stomach full of junk and feeling satisfied on how happy Clint looked, hugging a stuffed bear to his chest. Clint rested his chin on the top of the bear's head, a dazed smile on his face. Their hands connected and Tony started leading him towards the ticket booth. "Where are we going, Tony?" Clint swung their hands back and forth, enjoying the companionship of the other teenager. 

"I'm just looking for my dad." He hummed in response and Clint grew quiet. Tony seemed to catch that and he rubbed his thumb against the back of his hand. "I won't leave yet." He promised, stopping by the ticket booth.

They stood there for a whole hour, chatting and laughing as the last few circus goers had trailed out of the park; the rides were being shut down for the night. Tony was growing antsy as his dad was no where to be seen when suddenly he saw that the car was gone.

Realizing that Howard had left him, he felt tears gathering in his eyes. "Well if that's how it is.." He muttered, feeling downright betrayed. His father must've left for some stupid business thing. He was always doing that. Clint looked up at him, confused.

"Hm?"

"My dad left me here." Tony whispered and tightened his grip on Clint's hand. The blonde teen grabbed his other hand, looking and sounding concerned.

"Oh.. well you can bunk with me for the night." He offered, not liking the way Tony was getting upset. The wheels were already turning in Tony's head however and once the boy got an idea in his head, there was no turning back.

"Clint. Go get changed and pack up anything you want. I'm busting you out of here and we're running away." He said in a firm and decisive tone. Clint was speechless but then he slowly nodded, staring at Tony in shock. 

"I'll... I'll be right back, I promise." The blonde teen said before running off.

Tony's hands curled into tight fists as tears started slipping down his cheeks. If his dad thought it was okay to leave him on his own, he'd show him. Oh, he'd show him alright. It's not like he needed Howard anyways. It was just him now and Clint was going to be with him.

"Screw. You. Dad." He growled with his tight fists shaking at his sides, watching as the blonde acrobat disappeared into the dark.


End file.
